


All You Wanted Was Right in Front of You

by laheysmythes



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Enemies to Friends, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Future Fic, M/M, Mutual Pining, Obliviousness, Roommates, Slow Burn, friends to lovers (eventually), thiam secret santa 2k17
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 12:24:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13146642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laheysmythes/pseuds/laheysmythes
Summary: This is a gift for @murdocks-matthew on tumblr for the Thiam Secret Santa.“Liam, you’ve gone silent. Are you sure you’re okay dude?” Mason asked Liam for the second time that night, exchanging a brief glance with Corey.What was Liam supposed to answer to that if he had suddenly been hit with the scary realization that he had been pining for the same guy he had been living with for the past eleven years? Of course he was not okay, but he couldn’t exactly blurt it out when Theo was sitting right across from him.Or the one where after Liam realizes that he has been in love with Theo for the better part of 11 years, he looks back on their life together and wonders how he never realized it before.





	All You Wanted Was Right in Front of You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [murdocks_matthew](https://archiveofourown.org/users/murdocks_matthew/gifts).



> Merry Christmas Caitlin! I tried my best to fit most of the tropes that you said were your favorites, and I hope I didn't go too overboard with the slow burn in this haha. Hope you're having a great day!

“Liam, you’ve gone silent. Are you sure you’re okay dude?” Mason asked Liam for the second time that night, exchanging a brief glance with Corey.

What was Liam supposed to answer to that if he had suddenly been hit with the scary realization that he had been pining for the same guy he had been living with for the past eleven years? Of course he was not okay, but he couldn’t exactly blurt it out when  _ he  _ was sitting right across from him.

He had been roommates with Theo for the past eleven years and had been oblivious of his own feelings for the chimera until three weeks ago. He wondered how it never crossed his mind before.

 

There had been a time where he had actually hated Theo. It was the feeling of betrayal after he tricked and separated the pack, and Liam couldn’t find it in his heart to forgive him at the time. He thought he never would, but then he released the chimera from hell, and stuff actually changed.

Whether he was doing it to survive, to be part of the pack, or for whatever weird reason that Liam couldn’t understand, Theo did help them- helped  _ him _ the most when the war against the Anuk-ite and the hunters happened. Hell, even before then, Theo had saved Liam’s life from the ghost riders more than once.

Although he was reluctant at first, Liam was actually glad it had been Theo by his side, because like it or not, he was the one who managed to understand his lack of control and anger issues better than the others. Sure, the chimera managed to get under his skin more times than whatnot, but he wasn’t  _ evil _ anymore. Liam was pretty sure they would be considered frenemies by that point.

Then Liam found out Theo didn’t have a place to live and something shifted inside of him.

Liam had to give the performance of his life when he came up with a sob story to convince their parents to let Theo live with them for a while. Mrs. Geyer was immediately on board, her maternal instinct coming into play at the thought of a kid (technically Theo was a 19 year old adult now, but all moms still call younger people kids and Liam’s mom was no exception) sleeping in a car outside, in Beacon Hills of all places.

And if Liam thinks  _ now _ about the moment he told Theo that he could live with him and his family, and he remembers how he held his breath and his heart skipped a beat when the chimera looked at him with that frustratingly confusing look of his, he would admit that the signs of  _ something _ were there early on.

Too bad he was always so oblivious to realize it on time.

Anyway, they lived in the Geyer’s household sharing a room for approximately eight months while Liam finished his last year of high school. He convinced Theo to come back to school after two hours of ranting about the fact that  _ ‘even if school sucks, it is needed if you want to go to college and have a job in something you’d like to do’.  _

“I like biology,” Theo muttered quietly, interrupting Liam mid-rant but the boy stopped talking as soon as the chimera spoke.

That’s the moment Liam realized that he didn’t actually know anything about Theo’s interests other than this, or the fact that he likes dark colors because all his clothes are either grey or black. Or the nightmares. But that last one they had never spoken about it, Liam just  _ knew _ because Theo reeked of fear sometimes when he was asleep, and since they shared a room it’s impossible not to know.

 

High school was over before they realized it, both boys had graduated with a semi-decent GPA that was enough to get them into college. Both Corey and Mason were going to UCLA meanwhile Liam had been accepted into UC Davis, which had a great history program too so he couldn’t complain. 

Theo on the other hand had been eyeing the classified ads on the newspaper to find somewhere to live after Liam left for college.

The day Liam caught him reading the newspaper and the realization that Theo was planning to move away sank in was the next moment his heart skipped a beat in fear.

“So there’s an apartment within a decent price range on Davis for the both of us-” Liam let it slip without thinking and suddenly the room went completely and noticeable silent. The only sound that could be heard next was the ruffling of the newspaper as Theo tried to fold it and put it down.

“What?” Theo’s voice was as confused as the time Liam tried to explain what Mykonos was. 

“I mean…” Liam looked everywhere but Theo’s eyes that were piercing right through him, trying to figure him out. “It’s a 25 minute drive to campus if we get lucky, but since you have your truck, I figured…”

“You were planning to use me as your personal driver?” Theo raised an eyebrow, a small smirk suddenly making an appearance.

“Yeah, well, it wasn’t exactly because of your charming personality,” Liam scoffed, rolling his eyes. 

If he thinks on this moment now he can tell that  _ that _ was a lie. He wasn’t using Theo for his truck only, he… had grown used to his company. He liked to believe that living together with someone for eight months could do that to anyone.

 

Living with Theo in a two-bedroom apartment was way different than living with him at his parents’ house. 

Before, both boys had to be walking on eggshells to stop themselves from punching each other and accidentally revealing to Liam’s parents that werewolves are a thing. They kept the claws at bay, literally, but they’d still argue quietly.

Theo couldn’t help but laugh at how easy Liam got riled up and the dramatic expressions he did when he was annoyed by something the chimera said.

They had been at each other’s throats the first days after they moved in. It was a miracle they had managed to get everything out of their respective boxes without shattering anything. 

“Why do you need that?” Theo asked from where he was sitting on a stool, watching unhelpfully as Liam organized everything in the small kitchen.

“ _ Because _ Theo, if you don’t want to die we need to cook actual food, and usually food is cooked in different pans and pots,” Liam said as he shoved the different pans that his mom had bought inside the oven. “Takeout is too expensive to afford everyday, and we can’t just survive off of frozen foods and ramen.”

“I did. For months,” Theo shrugged.

“Yeah, look how you turned out,” Liam sarcastically said and it made Theo snort. 

The first time Liam tried to cook something from scratch he almost set the kitchen on fire, and Theo still mocks him for it to this day.

“I mean, I’m almost certain that ramen is better for your health than burnt food,” Theo joked while looking at the mess in the stove, only receiving a death glare from Liam.

“Shut up,” Liam replied, taking his phone out to look for pizza places nearby that delivered at that hour.

Next time it was Theo, who actually learned how to cook, since he had more spare time than Liam. He got a job but didn’t enroll in college, he had no money whatsoever to pay for it so he was waiting to save some before enrolling.

The rest of the pack had been confused at first with the boys’ decision to move away and be roommates. They knew that Theo had been living at the Geyer’s but they always thought it was temporary. Eventually they learned to get over it even if they were wary of the chimera. 

 

And during Liam’s four years of college they went through a lot.

Sometimes they pretended to be a couple just for the sake of getting discounts at restaurants or movies. It started once because they were $10 bucks short on money and the restaurant had a couple’s special since it was February so Theo brought it up and Liam followed along.

They’d play the part really well sometimes that even the waitresses bought their story. Theo came up with the story of how they met in high school but at first hated each other (which wasn’t so far from the truth), then later couldn’t be apart and now here they were. Every time he added something more to the lie, and if Liam didn’t know any better he’d believe it himself. 

He never knew why everytime they pretended to date he got this weird feeling running through his body, kind of when you’re about to do something you want to but shouldn’t and the adrenaline starts running through your body.

All of the times they did that and they never kissed though.

  
They got close to it once during Hayden’s wedding of all people. She got married at 23 to some boy she met in college, and when Liam got his invitation in the mail it felt like a cold water bucket fell on top of him. 

His first instinct when he saw the plus one pass was to drag Theo into this mess. 

“Theo!” Liam yelled across the apartment, eyes still glued to the invite.

“What?” Theo appeared on the living room, he was wearing sweatpants only, trying to dry his hair with a towel since he had just showered. When Liam looked back at him it took him a few seconds to get back to what he was saying since his eyes were glued to Theo’s chest.

“We need to do that ‘pretend we’re dating’ thing,” Liam said as he turned his eyes away from Theo and back to the card.

“Who are we trying to scam now?” Theo sat next to Liam on the couch and suddenly Liam was hyper aware of his surroundings.

“No one, it’s for Hayden’s wedding,” Liam passed the card on to Theo. “She sent me a plus one but I don’t really have anyone and don’t want to go alone, so…”

“Will the rest of the pack be there? Because that won’t work - besides, isn’t it lame going to your ex’s wedding?” Theo said.

“Scott is in France again with Malia and this Isaac guy, and Mason said he was busy finishing up his thesis so he and Corey won’t be there. And it’s not lame,” Liam snatched the card from Theo’s hand a little bit too forcefully it almost ripped. 

“Fine,” it took a couple minutes for Theo to agree with Liam’s idea. “Let’s do it.”

And when they showed up at the reception Hayden looked more shocked than ever. Liam thought it was either because he brought Theo along or maybe because they had been holding hands (but honestly it looked like they were reluctantly holding hands which didn’t seem so realistic for their  _ ‘we’ve been dating for a while’ _ cover).

“Liam! What are you doing here?” Hayden said with eyes wide, a forced smile on her face.

“We got the invite,” Liam held up the invitation so she could see it, but she stayed silent. “You did invite me, right?”

“Yeah, but I actually didn’t think you’d show up, I-” Hayden was interrupted because her husband showed up at her side. 

“Welcome, you must be Hayden’s friends I assume?” the guy said, shaking hands with both Theo and Liam.

“Eric, this is Liam… and Theo,” it seemed like Hayden hadn’t fully registered that Theo, of all people, was there at her wedding too.

“Oh, Liam the high school ex-boyfriend?” Eric noted and everyone nodded awkwardly, falling into an uncomfortable silence.

“Well, you can go ahead and find your seat, we need to go greet some other guests,” Hayden broke the silence, still trying to keep her shock hidden. 

After that, things… quite escalated. Liam had never been one to recognize the emotions he was feeling other than anger or fear, but he was feeling too much all at once. 

They almost ended up kissing by accident when they were making their way to their table after Theo had gone to the restroom (and of course Liam followed him because he didn’t want to be alone in the table), they got pushed against a wall by some people who were in a hurry and the position they ended up made it seem like they were about to kiss in purpose.

Theo ended up pushed against Liam, and it took them awhile to separate since they had lost their balance. When they did, they stared at each other for a while, faces just mere inches away from one another, Liam could feel Theo’s breath ghosting against his lips… and then Hayden caught sight of both of them by accident.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to- I was just going to the bathroom,” she excused herself awkwardly and Liam looked like he had been caught red-handed. Which was what he wanted, right?

He followed her with his eyes as she left to the restroom, snapping out of it when he felt Theo move away. And indeed, the chimera was making his way to the table, scratching at his neck awkwardly like nothing happened.

Liam let his head rest against the wall as he closed his eyes, because everything had happened  _ so fast _ he hadn’t had time to process it all. His brain was thrumming with indistinct sounds, clouded with different emotions he couldn’t put a name to, and he needed clarity.

“So you’re with Theo now?” a voice snapped him out of his thoughts, making him open his eyes. It was none other than Hayden.

“He’s changed,” Liam said a bit too quickly like his first instinct was to defend the chimera.

“I figured, since you weren’t trying to kill each other,” Hayden chuckled awkwardly, the mental image still seemed a little weird for her. 

“Sorry about being here and all,” Liam started but she cut him off quickly.

“Hey, no hard feelings, right?” Hayden said and Liam nodded. “And if Theo makes you happy, well, that’s a good thing then.”

“Yeah… a good thing…” the words barely a whisper since Hayden was walking away now, leaving Liam staring through the crowd indistinctly until his eyes landed on Theo, who was making faces at him to come back to the table.

When the best man speech was happening, Liam looked like confusion and regret. Something was clearly bothering him, especially when the words ‘when you find that one person you want to spend the rest of your life with, that person that completes you’ were said. He was biting his lip and tapping his foot impatiently, and Theo quickly caught up on it.

“You still have feelings for her?” Theo asked quietly, low enough so only Liam could hear.

Liam stopped tapping his foot and turned around to look at Theo, who was more intrigued than ever.

“No,” Liam responded confidently, and he wasn’t lying. He stopped having feelings for Hayden a long time ago, and seeing her again didn’t bring up anything really. He was afraid it would, that’s why he brought Theo, but no feelings towards her were brought up or anything.

“Then what’s wrong?” Theo frowned, his eyes never leaving Liam.

“I… don’t know,” or maybe it was that Liam didn’t want to know at the moment what those unknown feelings were because they left him in turmoil. 

If he looked back on this moment he realized that if only he had let his brain think a little more he would’ve realized that his feelings for Theo run deeper than expected, and that by that point there was no turning back.

 

  
“You two seem like a married couple, always attached to the hip,” Stiles mocked them one day after the pack had a get-together after years of not seeing each other.

Liam was 26 and Theo 28 by now, both had been living together for nine years now and none of them had stopped to think and consider that they spent most of their time together.

Liam had followed Hayden’s words a little too closely, because in a weird, unknown way, Theo made Liam happy despite their bickering, happy enough that Liam hadn’t stopped to consider the fact that he hadn’t dated someone in  _ years.  _ He enjoyed the chimera’s company a little bit too much, and if only the rest of them knew Theo the way Liam knew him they’d (probably, hopefully) understand.

Theo was an enigma at first, and it took a while for him to open up, but he slowly did. From sharing some pointless story about what happened to him at work, or just bringing something up that he knew of when they were talking, Liam started to notice that Theo was an actually interesting and fun person to be around.

_ Of course  _ Theo would tease him over anything to no end, but Liam was quick to fire back, and most of the times when they started saying playful shit at each other, Liam’s adrenaline rose and… he wasn’t really annoyed, he just pretended to be. And even though he’ll never admit it, he enjoyed this side of Theo too. 

After Stiles’ comment, both Theo and Liam shared a quick look then rolled their eyes respectively. But even though he waved it off, Liam could see the way Theo’s body flinched and froze for a moment, being too aware of the werewolf’s presence now.

And that’s when the problems started.

 

Looking back on it now, Liam realized that the overwhelming feeling he felt during those  _ cold as hell  _ months was called jealousy. At the time, he didn’t know because it was a new feeling: being an only child he never had to experience jealousy because he had all the attention he wanted.

The only brief time he would have experienced it was when Theo talked that one time to Hayden after he turned out to be evil, but Liam had classified it as anger just because he didn’t know what jealousy was.

After that eventful meeting with the pack, Theo had become a little bit closed off. To the normal eye he was the same old Theo, but for Liam, who had lived with him on a daily basis, it was impossible to not notice.

He kept making excuses that he was busy with work, with studying (because he did apply to a community college once Liam graduated and all), and if Liam didn’t know him better it would’ve just seemed normal.

But Liam could  _ feel  _ something had changed.

  
Throughout those nine years both of them had gone on dates, but they had reached some sort of silent agreement to never bring them to their apartment unless it was something serious.

Liam’s dates were considered a complete disaster. He just wasn’t graceful enough to not act like a nervous awkward mess, and he ended up self-sabotaging his own dates because he got nervous. Anyone would’ve been saddened because of it, but once the embarrassment faded away after a long drive back to the apartment, Liam seemed like everything was fine because he got to come home to talk to Theo and laugh it off and say ‘maybe next time will be better’.

And Theo… he was completely silent about his dating life. Liam  _ knew  _ that at the very least he had some one night stands here and there, or _ something, _ but he was really closed off. Not once had Liam heard him talk about a girl or a boy or any details regarding his romantic/sex life. He only knew because of the nights when Theo came home really late at night trying to not make any sound to not wake Liam up.

But then Theo brought a girl home one day and something inside Liam’s heart lit up like a thousand fires going on at once.

He had been reading a book while having the TV on as background noise, something he used to do after a long day at work. Theo had been nowhere in sight but Liam didn’t think much of it. He was on the sofa, feet propped up in the coffee table in the living room, relaxing, until the door opened abruptly, making him drop the book on his lap as if he had been caught by surprise.

There on the entrance was Theo and a girl who was clinging to him, both of them…  _ laughing?  _ And Theo didn’t even bother to spare a look at Liam, like he was submerged in his own little bubble with whatever this girl’s name was.

He didn’t know what irrational part of his brain was acting up but he was a bit angry and somewhat hurt. He told himself it was because they had interrupted his peace.

He now knew it was because he wanted to be that girl in that moment, to be with Theo in their own little bubble.

Things weren’t easy for a while, he saw less and less of Theo with each day passing because Kate, his  _ girlfriend _ _,_ took up most of his free time. Liam got used to an empty and cold apartment that was suddenly too big for him, and he got used to seeing Theo have this smile he hadn’t noticed before when looking at his phone. 

Trying times they were, and Liam’s lonely and petty side came into play. After several failed dates that kinda hurt a bit more than all the ones he’s had throughout the years (because he didn’t have Theo anymore to laugh them off so it wouldn’t sting), he managed to find a girl who was as awkward as he was.

And if Theo could bring Kate to their apartment, then Liam could bring Alisha to it too. 

 

For a while it worked, until it didn’t anymore. Liam wasn’t really into Alisha - she was nice and she was pretty, but something was  _ off _ emotionally. He could make out, hell he even tried to be more intense with her when Theo was around, but it wasn’t working for him anymore.

Liam turned 27 and a few weeks later he broke it off with Alisha. He was back to table-for-one-and-paying-full-price Liam, since he didn’t have his usual partner in crime to pretend to be his date to knock a couple bucks off the check.

He was back to third-wheeling at Mason and Corey’s wedding because everyone was there with their date: Scott and Malia, Stiles and Lydia (who had also gotten married), Chris and Melissa, Nolan and Alec (who had an on and off thing but they were together nonetheless), Theo and Kate…

That day he remembered Mason gave him a look that had haunted him for a while because it was filled with pity, but Liam didn’t seem to catch up on why.

Now that he thought about it he wanted to slap himself for being so oblivious and in denial.

 

Relief came by sooner than expected one night when Theo came home earlier than usual and he was alone. Liam had groaned when the lock opened, getting ready to go hide in his room but  he saw Theo alone and he stopped moving.

“You okay?” Liam asked him, and suddenly the air felt too hot like he was having trouble breathing without suffocating.

“Yeah,” he nodded and Liam could’ve sworn it sounded like back-to-normal Theo.

“Where’s Kate?” her name tasted bitter on his mouth.

“We broke up,” Theo said like it was nothing, and Liam realized that’s the most insight he got coming from the chimera on the entire relationship.

Theo sat down next to Liam on the sofa, grabbing the remote and flicking through the channels. Liam just kept staring at him, a million questions he wanted to ask such as  _ ‘Are we okay? Why did you two broke up? Do you hate me? Why did I miss you this much?’ _ but he didn’t.

“Are you going to keep staring at me all night or do you wanna order takeout for dinner? I’m starving,” Theo said and just like that it felt like they were back to normal.

That had been a year and a half ago but it felt like it had been so long ago now.

 

Months passed by and Liam was still oblivious, enjoying once again being in Theo’s company, enjoying doing their usual dumb shit like pretending to go on dates to get discounts, or trying to go on an impromptu road trip that lasted them two hours before they had to go back because a tire had blown out and Theo didn’t have a spare, or finding a recipe to make special alcohol for werewolves and then getting drunk with it.

Vodka had never seem so dangerous before, it seemed like it managed to take the blindfold off of Liam’s eyes so he could finally realize what he was feeling.

They were drunk beyond help, walking around in circles until they found the nearest thing and it turned out to be a McDonalds. So there they were at almost midnight, the unfortunate restaurant was open 24hrs and Theo went in asking for a couple of cheeseburgers off of the dollar menu.

He was the least drunk (or the one that seemed the least drunk) of the two of them, but even then his brain seemed to have short-circuited because he couldn’t concentrate on why they were charging him more than usual.

“The prices went up last week,” the employee replied politely but Theo kept frowning at the menu, just staring hard at it then coming back to the same argument.

The moment Liam realized he was completely and irrevocably in love with Theo was probably the stupidest moment in both of their lives. He realized it as Theo kept going on about  _ ‘why is it called a value menu if you’re charging me more money for two cheeseburgers’  _ in such a confused tone while Liam just stared and grinned endearingly.

“I can’t believe this is the idiot I’m in love with,” Liam whispered between laughs to no one in particular really, and when his brain caught up with his words, his laugh stopped and it sobered him up so quickly he realized he had been leaning on the wall and was about to fall.

_ Shit. _

Next thing he knew he was running off to the restrooms to throw up, alcohol intoxication had been a bit too much.

  
That had been three weeks ago, and ever since then Liam hadn’t stopped thinking about it.

 

He hadn’t stopped thinking about it as Theo frowned at him, still in his drunk haze, because Liam had suddenly gone silent and his food was going cold.

He hadn’t stopped thinking about it every morning when he saw Theo coming out of his room looking for coffee because he had just woken up and needed the hot drink before he could become a productive member of society.

He hadn’t stopped thinking about it when their knees brushed when they were sitting on the sofa, or when they accidentally brushed fingers when they were passing each other something as simply as the TV remote.

Liam felt like he was being electrocuted with every touch, and in those three weeks he had realized the feelings had always been there, he just had been too oblivious to realize it. 

And in that moment, when Mason asked Liam if he was okay, everything came back to him in flashes and memories, all of it too overwhelming, and suddenly he felt like he couldn’t breathe.

“I think I’m just gonna-” Liam tried to get up abruptly but he ended up knocking off a few things on his way out, leaving the three of them more confused than ever. As he made his way to his room, he unbuttoned his shirt as if that would help him breathe better, but it wasn’t. Nothing did at this point.

Because it didn’t matter if Liam had all the air in the world, he felt he was never going to be okay because he knew the one person he was in love with wouldn’t return the sentiment. At least not in the same way.

He heard a soft knock on the door, and Liam froze. His heartbeat was erratic but he tried to hold in his breath to calm down. Bad move.

He felt more lightheaded than ever as he tried to gasp for air, opening the door to find a very confused and worried Theo outside. The last thing he needed.

“What’s gotten into you? You’ve been acting all weird the entire evening,” Theo frowned.

“I’m fine,” Liam lied.

“No, you’re not.”

“I said I’m fine,” Liam’s eyes flashed golden, and both of them were taken back to that one time eleven years ago at the zoo when Theo managed to see past Liam’s bullshit and knew he was not okay.

“I won’t hesitate to knock you out again if I have to,” Theo warned but it was more of a half-hearted attempt at distracting Liam. “Five times.”

Liam seemed to calm down for a bit until he was overwhelmed by how Theo was always there by his side to look out for him and-

“I…” Liam started but he looked helpless. He had a sad look on his face and was looking at Theo with pleading eyes. “I…”

“You…” Theo tried to give Liam the green light to continue talking, but Liam kept repeating the same over and over. He had gotten lost in the chimera’s beautiful grey eyes, so calming, so hypnotizing.

Was Liam dumb enough to risk their entire friendship for something that might not be reciprocated? Was he strong enough to continue keeping his feelings a secret just for the sake of their friendship? 

At this point when you’ve been through hell and back ( _ literally  _ in Theo’s case) with a person, you get so used to them that you can’t imagine your life without them.

This was Liam’s case now, he was in too deep and it had happened so soon (not really, but the realization was still fresh in his mind) that he couldn’t imagine his life without Theo.

And in that moment when his body moved before his brain could register what he was doing and his lips met Theo’s, he knew he was jumping inside a burning building that he wouldn’t be able to get out of unscathed. 

Liam felt like his entire body was burning, he was in a haze but at the same time he was trying to get ready mentally for Theo to snap at him, to tell him he didn’t see him that way… but then Theo began kissing him back.

When they broke apart to breathe, Theo continued kissing him. First leaving a soft kiss on his lips then making his way down to his neck, softly. Liam let his head fall back to give Theo more space but if someone asked him, the werewolf was already weak on his knees. 

He realized the reason he hadn’t fallen or anything was because Theo had a strong, steady grip on him, one arm wrapped around his lower back, keeping him in place. Liam managed to snap out of his trance and moved a hand to gently lift Theo’s chin so they were looking at each other.

This might be the softest look he had seen on Theo in all of the eleven years they’ve been living together, and Liam couldn’t be more in love with it. 

“Theo…” his name was soft in Liam’s lips, his eyes immediately looked down at the chimera’s lips. He wanted to ask if they were okay, if he hadn’t ruined it all by kissing him, but his thoughts quickly scattered because Theo was kissing him back and they were moving sloppily towards the bed.

Theo had pushed him down into the mattress while they were still kissing, and it all moved so fast: kisses that left Liam breathless continued, and Liam’s shirt was the first to go since it had been half unbuttoned. 

During the middle of all this it seemed like Liam’s brain had managed to go and overthink everything, and when Theo was about to remove his own shirt, Liam grabbed his wrist to stop him.

“Don’t,” Liam whispered but even his tone was betraying him because he sounded pained to stop him.

“Don’t what?” Theo asked, losing his grip on the shirt and moving so he wasn’t straddling Liam anymore. 

Liam felt cold at the lack of contact.

“Don’t just do this because you wanted to calm me down,” Liam said and immediately regretted expressing his thoughts when he saw Theo’s expression change.

“You think I would kiss you just because I wanted to calm you down?” Liam flinched at the chimera’s words and closed his eyes. If he hadn’t ruined everything before he sure had done it now, and he didn’t want to be looking when Theo left the room and snapped the door shut.

But the sound of the door closing never came, instead a soft hand found its way under his chin, turning it to the side slowly so he’d look at Theo.

“The other day we got drunk I realized…”  _ that I’ve been in love with you for so long, _ Liam left out those words and instead took a deep breath. “And ever since then I haven’t stopped thinking about you… but I didn’t wanna say anything because I didn’t want to ruin  _ us, _ what we have as a friendship.”

Theo was looking at him in such an understanding way that it gave Liam the courage to continue.

“You’ve been beside me for the better part of eleven years now, I didn’t want you to leave, I didn’t want to lose you,” Liam looked down at his hands like they had the answers he needed. “And it took me so long to realize why I felt the way I felt when I was around you, I just didn’t know at the time but I didn’t want you to feel anything you don’t want to, and it’s fine if you don’t-”

“Liam,” Theo cut him off mid-rant before Liam spiraled again.

“What?” Liam looked up at Theo and  _ damn _ those eyes, he could stare at them forever.

“I know,” was all Theo said but it left Liam more confused than ever.

“You know?”

“The day Kate and I broke up, she…” Theo began, voice a bit cracked. He deeply sighed before continuing. “She asked me to move in with her. Instead of thinking about it, I said no immediately. When she asked me why, I couldn’t explain it but my first thought was you. She broke up with me, but that day I realized I couldn’t really imagine myself living anywhere else but here.”

Liam’s expression turned from shock to a smile to a frown all in just a minute.

“So you’ve felt the same for the better part of a year and a half now and never said anything?” Liam didn’t know whether he wanted to slap the chimera first or himself for not realizing sooner.

“I didn’t want you to feel anything you didn’t want to,” Theo said the same words Liam had told him minutes ago, and now Liam understood how it felt to be on the other side of this. 

Except they were both fools who had been feeling like this possibly for quite a while now and neither of them had realized it until now.

“After what Stiles said about us acting like a married couple, I just…” Theo began but trailed off, not sure if he wanted to finish that sentence. Liam grabbed his right hand and squeezed it softly so he’d continue. “I didn’t want you to think something else so I pulled away, and that’s when…”

“That’s when you met her,” Liam finished off the sentence because he was sure Theo wasn’t going to finish it on his own, and the chimera just nodded in agreement.

If Liam had paid enough attention, he would’ve noticed that the smiles Theo had when he was looking at his phone whenever Kate texted him didn’t fully reach his eyes. Not like the smiles the chimera had whenever Liam was around.

They had wasted enough time being oblivious to their own feelings, and Liam didn’t want to waste any more. When he leaned in to kiss Theo again, he suddenly felt like all of his worries had evaporated, and suddenly he felt like he could breathe again.

**Author's Note:**

> Not gonna lie, when I was writing this I was torn between wanting to shake Liam by the shoulders and say 'because you're in love with him dumbass!!!' and also to keep writing for the slow burn, but it was a roller coaster of feels.
> 
> Merry Christmas to everyone else too and happy holidays!  
> -Alejandra


End file.
